Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3 2017/18
Welcome to Fantasy Football Captain Picks Gameweek 3. It actually feels like I’ve caught you at a bad time: summer is nearly over now; the Minions recently surpassed our beloved ogrelord Shrek, as the highest-grossing animated film franchise in history; the initial buzz of the new season is fading and player prices have started to fall. I can’t stop any of these dismal events, but I can offer hope for the future, a mere taster of the FPL points to come. Andy Carroll — our favourite Donkey — should really be the only player we need to save us but, considering his eternal state of injury, we should probably consider some inferior options.
Christian Eriksen vs Burnley (H)
This man has never featured in one of my captaincy articles before. That’s quite surprising when you consider his pedigree. Tallies of 132, 162, 178 and 218 over his 4 seasons in the Premier League so far suggest we should all buy him in before he hits 250+ points this time! Why don’t we captain him every week? He’s very unlikely to score a hat-trick or even break past 12 points in a given gameweek. But this is Mr Consistent we’re dealing with here.
Eriksen seems like a really nice guy; you ladies (or, as it’s 2017 now, you male-loving people) wouldn’t mind bringing him home to meet your parents. I can back this up. He’s only been booked 9 times in those 4 seasons (and 11,203 minutes played) which yields a yellow-card average of just one per 13.8 matches. Talk about discipline. Better yet? None of those bookings came last season and he’s never been red-carded before! The sign of a gentle lover if ever I heard one. Alli’s the guy that you tell him not to worry about…
Anyway, this Burnley fixture comes as the last kick-off this weekend and Eriksen has picked up 3 assists already, claiming 5 bonus points in the process. The negatives? I instantly thought of Spurs’ recent defeat against Chelsea, continuing their terrible ‘home’ form at Wembley, then remembered that Burnley beat Chelsea the weekend before! My suspicion is that a ‘cycle of wins’ between the trio will be completed. It’s hard to see past a solid 2-0 win here and Eriksen is likely to be instrumental once again.
Form: 7
Fixture: 8
Explosiveness: 5
Romelu Lukaku vs Leicester (H)
Manchester United are on fire. Starting off with consecutive 4-0 wins is terrifying team form. The current FPL top-5 scorers are 4 of The Red Devils and Hegazi, but somewhat surprisingly, it’s Lukaku who sits on the bottom of that list. Mkhitaryan and Pogba will both gladly accept your armband too, if you have one of them, of course.
Lukaku has 3 goals already and is as nailed-on as you can get for a 90-minute game from a striker. His past record with Everton shows that he loves playing at home. Don’t we all…
Leicester are tougher than Swansea or West Ham, the two teams that have bent over for this United team so far, but did happen to concede 4 goals against Arsenal in their first away match of the season so far. I’m not completely sold on this match being such a high-scoring affair but, with Lukaku’s ownership creeping up towards the 60% mark, it’s dangerous business to back against a man in his form.
Form: 8
Fixture: 7
Explosiveness: 8
Sergio Agüero vs Bournemouth (A)
Speaking of Minions, this guy has certainly brought in a lot of income, almost certainly including mini-league prize money for FPL managers in past seasons. He would’ve been the obvious captain choice for almost everyone back then. Now, many of us don’t even own him, myself included. He’s in here on merit. Sergio’s become that friend who nobody really likes anymore but it feels too rude to disinvite them. That’s not coming from personal experience! An old friend once told me. They haven’t spoken to me for a while…
Agüero did score in City’s opener, away from home, so this isn’t entirely a pity mention. It should be noted that Bournemouth have lost both of their opening matches and City have won all 4 of their past meetings in the Premier League with The Cherries: the scorelines read 0-2 and 0-4 for the two away fixtures. Jesus, despite his emergence last season, still seems to playing a secondary role under Pep Guardiola in terms of minutes played.
This fixture is the dreaded early kick-off of the weekend, but City aren’t usually shy in front of goal, are they? You’re probably reading this thinking “I have KDB and Jesus instead” which will quickly be followed by “I hate FPL” but, fear not, another thrashing and the points will hopefully pour in from all directions. Pep is love. Pep is life.
Form: 4
Fixture: 6
Explosiveness: 9
Javier Hernández vs Newcastle (A)
Who’s this? The Little Pea, the Real Madrid legend, the 7th-most prolific Premier League goalscorer in history. Chicharito, of course, folks! He’s averaged 130 minutes per goal in his English career so far and, although that was with Manchester United, he’s made a similarly quick start with another United now. West Ham will fancy their chances when they visit The Magpies, a team that have pedigree but no form, also losing both of their opening matches. That said, the only away performance West Ham have given so far was dreadful, which probably moves your armband back onto Lukaku; this would be a punt.
Form: 6
Fixture: 7
Explosiveness: 6
Harry Kane vs Burnley (H)
I faced a moral conflict when writing this up. It’s almost impossible to recommend Kane after opening with a pair of zero-goal, zero-assist, one-yellow-card and one-damn-point performances but, equally, he’s currently my team’s captain. Kane has been pretty unlucky so far — he’s rattled the woodwork a few times — and few players enjoy playing against so-called weaker teams at home more than he does. Burnley, putting their stunning win at Stamford Bridge aside, are arguably the worst away team around. It feels like only a matter of time before Kane’s relentless goal attempts are converted into points galore. He probably would’ve made a stronger start in a beauty contest than he has done in the Premier League but, just remember, it’s not August for much longer…
Form: 2
Fixture: 8
Explosiveness: 9
All the best with whoever you choose! See you on the boards.
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Gameweek Tracker GW3-11
BONUS PIECE! – Starting 11’s GW3 Preview
Starting 11 is the premier daily fantasy football app. The perfect complement to your FPL squad, Starting 11 picks up where your FPL squad leaves off. Managers can build new lineups each matchday without having to play their Free Hit chip and can make substitutions to their fantasy lineups in real-time – just like a real-life football manager.
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Welcome to Starting 11’s Gameweek 3 Preview. Only two weeks into the season, the Premier League has already offered up plenty of drama and excitement, including red cards, last minute winners, and a newly promoted side taking a short turn at the top of the table. So, what have Starting 11 managers learned in GW1 and GW2 that can be applied in GW3? Here are three things we are thinking about in the run up to GW3:
1. Manchester United’s midfielders might be ready to wear the armband
The vast majority of managers playing Starting 11 on Saturday gave the armband to Romelu Lukaku, and with good reason. In GW1 Lukaku rewarded owners who captained him with a massive return – 48 points in our game. With United travelling to Wales to face a Swansea side that recently bid adieu to Gylfi Sigurdsson, another successful day looked to be on the cards.
Swansea played deep and compact though, and it wasn’t until the 80th minute that Lukaku did anything to justify the decision to captain him. However, even with the goal to his name, Lukaku failed to score more points that the majority of United’s midfield. Indeed, Pogba, with his goal, assist, and constant involvement scored 35.6 points. Mkhitaryan and Matic both came in with 22.6 and 21.2, respectively. Any of the midfielders, if captained (captains receive 2x points, just like FPL), would have outperformed Lukaku this weekend. GW3 might just be the time to turn over the armband to a United midfielder?
2. Mane looks to be the man in Liverpool’s attack
One of the early struggles for fantasy managers this season has been deciding on which Liverpool attackers should be included in their line-ups. With a plethora of options – Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, to name a few – fitting all of them in has been difficult. After two Premier League matches and a Champions League match against Hoffenheim, it appears that Mane is the man. Mane has been a consistent presence in the lineup and on the scoresheet, while Salah has already seen the bench as a result of rotation, rest, and another midweek fixture and Firmino was kept quiet for most of Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace.
Smart managers will keep a keen eye on the Champions League return leg this week to see which Liverpool attackers look set for Sunday’s match against Arsenal, but our money’s on Mane to continue to be the driving force in Liverpool’s attack.
3. Late substitutions will be key to success in Starting 11
Many a manager has seen his weekend ruined after he locks in his FPL squad and finds out two of his midfielders are on the bench. Starting 11 eliminates that scenario by allowing managers to substitute players even after lineups have been announced and matches started. Indeed, the ability to sub off a defender for an extra attacker allows one to seize the initiative and go for the win. In GW3, managers should look to players like Anthony Martial who are being brought on late and making an instant impact. Indeed, Martial has proven that he will get the most out of his minutes with two goals in 25 minutes of action.
Substitutes brought on late in matches can really make the difference in a Starting 11 contest, especially when one side is on the front foot and looks threatening. Managers that take advantage of these situations will find success on Starting 11.
My research for the weekend. Try to enjoy it 😉
Well, GW2 was a bit naff, eh? The only positive I can draw from captaining Kane for the second weekend in a row is that my entire strike force amassed a whopping five points between them this time out – four if you don’t double Kane’s tally – and so my captaincy pick did not really have any bearing on the score I registered, unless I had been bold enough to captain Alonso. The new Baines, perhaps? Get him on pennos Conte!
With this in mind then, I have a load more statistics for you to sink your teeth into. Whilst the aim might be to pick a high-scoring captain, at least when your captain gets a third consecutive yellow card and forgets where the net is you can tell your ML rivals that your choice was the ‘smart’ call. Yeah, that line hardly entices me to read on and I am writing the thing. This could be a dry one!
What better place to start than the early kick-off on Saturday. Bournemouth against City. Unless Ryan Fraser’s goal last night has weirdly imbued someone with confidence of a haul this weekend, or their lack of goals in any form so far makes you think they are ‘due’ goals, in what must be the most ‘Sunday league’ piece of analysis ever, I am sure you all only care about City.
Away from home this season and last, they scored 2+ goals in 16/20 games. The only hiccups were Spurs (0), Liverpool (0), Everton (0) and Chelsea (1). If that does not scream City goals I do not know what does. They beat Bournemouth 2-0 away from home last season, and 4-0 at home. Bournemouth have conceded 2+ at home in 12/20 games, including 3 against United, Liverpool, Southampton, Arsenal and Chelsea. Forgive me, as a De Bruyne owner, for not getting too carried away. The Belgian’s ostensibly new defensive position and his dropping value will deter many from continuing their FPL journey with him, never mind captaining him. My personal opinion, for what it’s worth, is that taking all City coverage out is tantamount to jumping from a ship that is not sinking. However, with Jesus and KDB in my team, I will be getting rid of the new Fernando imminently, just to see if the lifeboats are functioning.
Onto Spurs – the other side of the disappointment coin. In the hope that some people are only skim reading this: GET KANE OUT.
Right, now that the casuals have been successfully dealt with, let us look at the stats
. Having already recorded more losses at home (1) than they suffered last season, the ‘Hoodoo Brigade’ are out in full-force: Spurs are slow starters, Kane is scared of the month of August, Wembley is too wide, Wembley is too big. Blah, Blah, Blah. Basing the inability of Spurs to make Wembley a fortress like White Hart Lane based on European football and one game against the Champions is almost as absurd as the theory suggesting Kane cannot score in August. His stats, for one, prove that those who have chosen not to fork out £12.5m for him also have a stash of four-leaf clovers, horseshoes and rabbit feet in their bedside drawer. But I digress. Onto the stats.
At home last season they scored 2+ in 14/19 games. I am not trying to give any credibility to the ‘slow-starter’ argument, but four of these came in the first five games at home last season (the other against Middlesbrough), followed up by a solitary goal against Chelsea in the first home game of this season. Make of that hypothesis what you will. I am still unconvinced.
They scored 3+ in eight of those games (although only beat Burnley 2-1), and Burnley have conceded 2+ in 14/20 away games. Promisingly, the only sides they were watertight against were an ‘old-look’ United side, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace, conceding just one against West Ham and Hull, to complete the trio of relegated sides. The game looks perfect for Kane to silence the doubters. If nothing else, you will get a whole point from your captain again (yep, I am still bitter).
This season United have been rampant. Well, in the last twenty minutes at least. Surprisingly, Leicester were leaky at the back last season, conceding 2+ in 13/19 away from home. Add Arsenal’s four scored this season to that and United look good to keep on scoring. Hey, even last season’s United put four past Leicester in this fixture last year. United, this season and last, scored 2+ at home in 8/20 games. Not great, but then they have started the season with two 4-0 drubbings of West Ham and Swansea. It does not seem to be about the past with this lot, so far.
And finally, Chelsea. Who knew that a single goal could change the analysis of a game so much? Marcos Alonso’s second saw radio show hosts jump from saying Spurs were unlucky with a point to throwing hoodoos about like sweets to children. My point here is that Spurs’ performance was solid. Kane was unlucky not to score (again). Conte adopted Mourinho’s favourite strategy of ‘Park the Bus’ and his side managed to, quite literally, snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Chelsea were not poor, but Morata is not the same sort of player as Diego Costa was. Launching balls at him from defence is not his game, and working out how to play harmoniously will take time.
But if you were about last night you will have seen that I said the following stats have made me want to get Morata. If I had any intention of Wildcarding, I probably would. At home, Chelsea have scored 2+ in 17/20 Premier League games, including thumping Everton 5-0. Everton only conceded 2+ in 7/20, but this includes three against Spurs, Liverpool and Arsenal (and five against Chelsea). If it was not for their fixtures and Hazard’s fitness, maybe I would bring him in. The definition of a punt, but it really could pay off.
Nice read AT. Probably between Kane + Luk for me.
Cheers Elle. Not having Lukaku makes my decision easy haha
Wow Great analysis AT, I will be going with Kane as captain. Watched the Chelsea-Spurs match and Kane should have brace or atleast a goal and he seemed motivated as he posted tweet after the match so a little risk but would be worth it
Thats a good reason, and a new one actually.
“He tweeted so he’ll score”
So I should tweet more and then show my wife? 😉
Specking on spurs what’s ppls thoughts on when sin will be back to 1st team football
Cheers Snookie.im I’m on him too.
You will see B 😉
How we all doing looking fwd to Gw can it be any worse than the last probably 😉
Think it can only get better for me anyway well I hope so anyway
It can’t be, mate! Fingers crossed for some green arrows (can’t get much worse!)
Gents
Which one do you prefer?
Or
Id rather sign up for a scrabble competition.
I’m not sure I love any of them honestly. Possibly last one if Coutinho goes you could have Can instead of Richarlson and Trippier in there instead of Zanka. That could work
Not a fan of richarlison? Think he’s decent and will get more points than Can
How about this? Defence is still weak but I prefer to have a better front 7
Or this but no city coverage
I like Richarlson was just looking at an obvious downgrade to improve defence
Try one with Alonso, Kane and pool coverage at least
Hi Mitro, definitely not the 2nd. In fact I’d rank them –
4
3
1
2
On the 4th you could downgrade Jesus to Firmino, maybe lose Salah as a result, possibly get Erik / Alli and invest what’s left in upgrading at the back a bit with another ‘premium’ i.e. Spurs, Man City, Arsenal etc.
+1. I think this is a sensible suggestion. Not seeing value in the premium City attackers just yet– personally I’m waiting until one of the 7-8m options stakes a place. Definitely want to get some premium defenders in though, e.g. Alonso/Trippier are likely to outscore Richarlison for example over the season
Mitro – have you toyed with 3-5-2?
Hi all did anyone see Liverpool game tonight – any guesses who will play(or not) this weekend?
Only had it on the radio but probably not Moreno or Lovren from what I heard!
Yep defence was awful but very good going forward. Think it will be pretty much same team
For a game like Arsenal, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t the strongest team Klopp could field.
Which defender would you keep, Davies or Kompany, or keep both for this gw ?
Both this week, surely? Who are you buying if one goes?
It was going to be Alonso, but i’m not to sure. Think i’ll stick and have 2fts for the IB.
His goals / assists come into it of course for him but stripping it back to just the staple CS’s that’s a pretty tough run of games ahead for Chelsea. Less so for the other 2 in comparison.
Yeah, I’d hold fire mate
Hey Initt. If you’re there, what is your opinion on Calvert? Need your suggestion mate..
Sorry mate, must have completely missed that question. If he was a mid at that price I’d say maybe. Not convinced at all as a forward. He’s doing well right now but he’s going to have to keep that up and then some considering the competition for places in that team.
Initt.Thanks a lot for the reply. He seemed a very decent 3rd forward enabler and could help in balancing the team more.. But i get your point and it’s well noted. Will keep away for now.
Don’t think he’ll actually start up top that much with Sandro about. Little comparison between the 2 when Sandro gets going properly. Personally think Lookman should be ahead Lewin too from what I’ve seen of the pair. But then I don’t see them in training every day.